Chapter 282: Arrangements
“It’s me. Don’t show any strange expression. Slowly back away.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Witte calmed his mind and slowly retreated. After distancing himself from the crowd and the Punishers, Witte saw the person clearly; it was Mr. Turtledove.
Adhering to the principle of caution, Witte pressed his hand on the pin on his chest, which was his transformed Grimore. Turtledove also pressed his hand over his wrist in the air.
Hum!
The mental link was established.
“Follow me!”
Mr. Turtledove, wearing a gray commoner’s robe, held Witte’s left hand and ran quickly into the alley. After many twists and turns, they arrived at an ordinary residential house in the Ninth District.
Mr. Turtledove closed the door. The Spell Model on his hand flickered slightly. A circular ring with a radius of about ten meters outside the house glowed faintly and then vanished.
“Warren’s Lesser Warning Spell. It can create a warning circle with a radius of ten meters.”
After closing the door, Turtledove explained to Witte.
“Mr. Turtledove, do you know anything? How is Misha?”
Witte asked somewhat apprehensively.
“The specific reason is unclear, but Misha was exposed. She and her family have all been arrested. As Misha’s lover and senior, you could be arrested at any moment. As your senior, I am no longer safe either.
“We must flee immediately. If everything goes smoothly, we can still catch this year’s Magic Ship and head to the High Tower.”
Turtledove spoke to Witte with a grave expression. When mentioning the High Tower, his expression relaxed slightly.
“I can’t go. I have to find a way to rescue Misha, and then we’ll leave together.”
Witte was burning with anxiety. He tried his best to stay calm, but his voice trembled.
“Child, being too kind is greed. Perfect endings only exist in novels. Reality is often cruel; you will die.”
Turtledove sighed and said.
“Everything must be because I gave Misha the Grimore. I have a responsibility to save her. If I don’t have the ability to save her, I am willing to die with her.”
Witte said with clear and firm eyes.
Turtledove stared at Witte for a while, then sighed, “Then go. Our fate as senior and junior ends here.”
Witte bowed to Turtledove with some shame and gratitude. He lowered the spell he had secretly prepared and turned to leave.
Just then, the Mana in Turtledove’s hand suddenly gathered, and a Spell Model formed rapidly.
Before Witte could react, he felt a heavy blow to his head and instantly felt dizzy.
“He actually didn’t faint!”
Turtledove was greatly surprised. He had used his signature spell, Lesser Stun, to sneak attack the unsuspecting Witte, yet Witte didn’t pass out. It seemed Witte’s Mental Power was already higher than his own.
Witte swayed, trying to shake off the dizziness. Enduring the headache, he constructed a defensive Spell Model. Just as he was halfway through, he saw Turtledove’s fist getting larger and larger.
After dozens of punches, Turtledove looked at the unconscious Witte on the ground, rubbed his wrist, and said, “Physical stun is still the most effective.”
Two hacks pulled a dilapidated carriage, creaking along the cobblestone road. Witte felt his eyelids were heavy, as if he were drowning. He struggled with all his might and finally swam up from the bottom of the water.
“Awake? Drink some fruit wine to quench your thirst?”
Witte opened his heavy eyelids and drank a few mouthfuls of the fruit wine brought to his lips, which jolted him fully awake.
“Where is this? Mr. Turtledove!”
Witte asked anxiously.
“This is the border. We are about to leave the Milne City-State.”
Mr. Turtledove downed the remaining fruit wine Witte had left, belched, and said.
Time and perspective return to yesterday evening, at Warren’s residence.
Ace stared at the black, shiny octahedral Phylactery erupting with life force. After losing the soul fire—the source of death power—the life force of the entire octahedron erupted like a blazing sun, then collapsed, finally condensing into a tiny sphere of life force.
The infant inside the black, shiny octahedron hugged the sphere of life force and fell into a deep sleep.
“Too strange. This little thing can actually pull at my True Spirit. What kind of strange thing have I created?”
Ace examined the black, shiny octahedron. A sphere of light floated out from his True-Illusion Dream, rising behind his back.
Through the bright light, Ace stared at the infant inside the thumb-sized octahedron, thinking.
“The mutated Shadow of the True Spirit seems to have become some kind of anchor. The wrapping of the living soul fragment is also worth considering. These operational errors seem to have created a strange Phylactery closely linked to the True Spirit.”
Ace frowned in thought and took out a normal Skeleton Phylactery for comparison.
“The soul fire has extinguished. If it were a Skeleton Phylactery, it should continue to generate new soul fire instead of being like this now, with Negative Energy almost gone and only life force remaining.
“This Phylactery does not possess the ability to generate new soul fire because it doesn’t have the rich Negative Energy like the Skeleton Phylactery. However, this generation mechanism seems to still exist. what will this lead to?”
Ace tried to stimulate the Phylactery remotely with his True Spirit. The power of life surged; something seemed about to be born, but the life force appeared insufficient, preventing birth.
“The mechanism of generation remains, but the foundation has changed from Negative Energy to Positive Energy.”
Ace put the thumb-sized black, shiny octahedron into his Spatial Expansion pocket. The research conditions here were too primitive; he had to return to the High Tower to research it better.
His Spatial Expansion pocket contained too many magical materials to return to the High Tower via the Reverse Summoning Magic Array. He prepared to take a Magic Ship back.
Ace walked out of Warren’s laboratory and found both Warren and Caruso there, discussing something seriously.
“What happened? You two look so serious.”
Seeing Ace come out, the two quickly stood up and bowed. Warren said:
“Lord Ace, a problem arose with our pilot line. A Warlock Apprentice was exposed, and his entire family was arrested by the Punishers organization.
“We have cut ties in time and arranged for the Warlock Apprentice’s one-way superior to leave the city on his own. We also issued warnings to other Warlock Apprentices through their Grimores.”
Ace nodded; their handling was appropriate. After learning about the relevant personnel, Ace became interested in Witte.
“Besides Betty , this is the second natural Mental Overdrive user we’ve discovered. Like Betty, not only is he naturally capable of Overdrive, but he also has great talent for mathematics. They are simply the darlings of magic.
“Betty’s mental strength has already reached 9.999 units. As long as she raises her physical constitution to nearly 10 units, there will be almost no obstacles for her to advance to Formal Wizard!”
Ace sighed with emotion to Warren and Caruso. The leap of life was so difficult, and talent was an extremely important aid at this hurdle. Therefore, Ace also greatly desired natural Mental Overdrive users; this might mean a future Formal Wizard.
“Lord Ace, I have arranged for Witte’s senior to take Witte to Port Mila. If all goes well, they will arrive at the High Tower this winter.”
Warren said to Ace unhurriedly.
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